England Tour of India

It was the first innings that lost England the match. It was a 400 score pitch.

Oh yeah totally but some of that was really good bowling, more so than the second innings. There were also some slip catches off the spinners for India's first innings where on another day could have stuck.
 
Bumrah's bowling in the first innings is what won the game for India. England were 100 runs short first innings mostly thanks to bumrah.

2 good competitive tests though so far. England's never say die mentality showing through in conditions that massively favour the home team. Previous England sides would of lost this test handsomely after facing a big first innings deficit. But this sides keeps plugging away believing they can win from anywhere.
 
I think we probably need another leftie the middle order.
 
It was the first innings that lost England the match. It was a 400 score pitch.

True but had the umpire's call on Gil been different in second innings, who knows. This test was closer than the score suggests and can't wait for number 3.

Any idea if Leach will be back?
 
No visiting side has scored 300 in the 4th innings in India so that's a decent effort. Needed a better score first time but Bumrah was just too good, Jaiswal obviously made a big difference as well.

England's spinners did okay given the lack of experience. The problem for them will be when the county season starts. Hartley's not getting many overs when Lancashire also have Nathan Lyon and Bashir won't be playing ahead of Leach for Somerset.
 
It was a closer game than the eventual margin suggests. India won a great toss, but they should have done better with the bat, and England bowled well as a unit to keep them in check. Then it was England's turn, and they should have got to within 100 of that score. Bumrah bowled great, but even so, England needed and could have got 300.

The Gill innings was the pivotal one. He could have gone there a few times but he somehow survived and he made a hundred. That ulitmately made the chase too much for England, although you wonder if an in form Joe Root and Harry Brook could have got them there.
 
Last edited:
Did you actually read the article? He is questioning the decision and saying its no excuse for the result. Players are allowed to have opinions.
He is allowed to have an opinion and given it's a ridiculous opinion I am allowed to mock it.

His statement is a classic I don't want to complain but...., if you weren't complaining you wouldn't have to add the prefix to would you, it's the same moral high ground I wouldn't want to win this way bs he tried to do in the ashes.
 
He is allowed to have an opinion and given it's a ridiculous opinion I am allowed to mock it.

His statement is a classic I don't want to complain but...., if you weren't complaining you wouldn't have to add the prefix to would you, it's the same moral high ground I wouldn't want to win this way bs he tried to do in the ashes.

Added you to my list of posters rattled by Bazball.
 
Added you to my list of posters rattled by Bazball.
Actually dude I am fan of bazball on the field, it's quite refreshing to watch this series, instead of the usual we run through the opponent for most of the series mixed with the odd square turner back firing spectacularly and blowing up in our face routine, England have provided a unique challenge when it comes to not backing down and being up for it in any situation.

It's the off field cultesque bs and overall weird gaslighting especially on part of english media that has me annoyed, you have Atherton one of the few really good cricket commentator and opinion piece writer trying to backdoor England as favorites.

Every English article I have read has some or other mention of how attacking English batting has india rattled because apparently setting long on and long off to guys trying to hit boundaries shows you are afraid.

We have Alastair Cook giving credit to fear of bazball for Ashwin not letting bumrah and mukesh face Rehan Ahmad. You could expect such shit from likes of boycott or even Vaughn but normal guys like cook are crediting England for their opponents trying to score as many runs as possible, this is just plain crazy to me.
 
Actually dude I am fan of bazball on the field, it's quite refreshing to watch this series, instead of the usual we run through the opponent for most of the series mixed with the odd square turner back firing spectacularly and blowing up in our face routine, England have provided a unique challenge when it comes to not backing down and being up for it in any situation.

It's the off field cultesque bs and overall weird gaslighting especially on part of english media that has me annoyed, you have Atherton one of the few really good cricket commentator and opinion piece writer trying to backdoor England as favorites.

Every English article I have read has some or other mention of how attacking English batting has india rattled because apparently setting long on and long off to guys trying to hit boundaries shows you are afraid.

We have Alastair Cook giving credit to fear of bazball for Ashwin not letting bumrah and mukesh face Rehan Ahmad. You could expect such shit from likes of boycott or even Vaughn but normal guys like cook are crediting England for their opponents trying to score as many runs as possible, this is just plain crazy to me.

My post was very much tongue in cheek but now I'm wondering if I should have been serious. The Atherton critique is very odd, did you read the article? Why do you care if he thinks England could win it now?

'I''m really not bothered, look how not bothered I am' - comes to mind.
 
It's only because of Stokes/McCullum we're even contemplating England have a chance to get 399.The mindset is were gonna have a go regardless and it's fantastic.

We'll either collapse in a heap 150 all out or make it very interesting.India to win by 80/90 runs.

106 runs so not a bad prediction
 
Actually dude I am fan of bazball on the field, it's quite refreshing to watch this series, instead of the usual we run through the opponent for most of the series mixed with the odd square turner back firing spectacularly and blowing up in our face routine, England have provided a unique challenge when it comes to not backing down and being up for it in any situation.

It's the off field cultesque bs and overall weird gaslighting especially on part of english media that has me annoyed, you have Atherton one of the few really good cricket commentator and opinion piece writer trying to backdoor England as favorites.

Every English article I have read has some or other mention of how attacking English batting has india rattled because apparently setting long on and long off to guys trying to hit boundaries shows you are afraid.

We have Alastair Cook giving credit to fear of bazball for Ashwin not letting bumrah and mukesh face Rehan Ahmad. You could expect such shit from likes of boycott or even Vaughn but normal guys like cook are crediting England for their opponents trying to score as many runs as possible, this is just plain crazy to me.

I think the reason everyone gets a bit giddy about how England play is because it’s the most un-English thing ever. It’s not just the aggressive cricket aspect, it’s more the cultural aspect of what McCullum and Stokes have setup.

Veterans like Atherton and Hussain grew up in an incredibly talented era but they were drilled to play a certain way and instantly dropped if they didn’t perform. English cricket is intrinsically cautious and risk averse. To them it’s incredibly liberating and enthusing to see the consistent messaging, clarity and encouragement that this setup gives to all of it’s players. That’s the way I read how they react to what this side does.

I genuinely cannot think of many English captains and setups ever who can look after rookie spinners as good as these guys have.

I did also kind of get Atherton’s line of argument, you’ve gone 1-0 up, they’ve not got Kohli, Rahul, Pant, Jadeja and Shami, this is as good a window as you’re going to get. However I disagreed with his statement in the end, India in India is as hard as it gets and we’ve got a rookie spin attack.

I kind of ignore most of the English media outside of Atherton, Hussain, Dobell and a couple of the Cricinfo guys. Like the football media, most of them don’t have a clue.
 
Seriously impressed by England sticking around like they have. This series has already surpassed the last one in India.

I fear that India will turn the screw with Kohli and Rahul potentially back from the 3rd test. If their middle order turns up they’ll bat England out of matches quite easily. There’s quite a scary batting lineup emerging for India if Gill can nail down 3 and Pant gets back to full fitness (Jaiswal, Sharma, Gill, Kohli, Rahul, Pant, Jadeja :eek:)

On the other side, England need Root to turn up to the party as soon as possible otherwise it’s going to be a tough end to the series. If Brook is back I’d get him in for Bairstow.

I feel for Jack Leach, he always seems to get injured at the worst possible time and if Hartley can keep performing like this he’s going to take his spot as England’s number one spinner. That extra ability with the bat is very valuable.
 
I think the reason everyone gets a bit giddy about how England play is because it’s the most un-English thing ever. It’s not just the aggressive cricket aspect, it’s more the cultural aspect of what McCullum and Stokes have setup.

Veterans like Atherton and Hussain grew up in an incredibly talented era but they were drilled to play a certain way and instantly dropped if they didn’t perform. English cricket is intrinsically cautious and risk averse. To them it’s incredibly liberating and enthusing to see the consistent messaging, clarity and encouragement that this setup gives to all of it’s players. That’s the way I read how they react to what this side does.

I genuinely cannot think of many English captains and setups ever who can look after rookie spinners as good as these guys have.

I did also kind of get Atherton’s line of argument, you’ve gone 1-0 up, they’ve not got Kohli, Rahul, Pant, Jadeja and Shami, this is as good a window as you’re going to get. However I disagreed with his statement in the end, India in India is as hard as it gets and we’ve got a rookie spin attack.

I kind of ignore most of the English media outside of Atherton, Hussain, Dobell and a couple of the Cricinfo guys. Like the football media, most of them don’t have a clue.
I also think this was a missed opportunity for England, not only were we missing so many top players, even our most banakable bowler in the last decade at home, Ashwin, looked off colour. Granted he bowled very well in the second innings but still not to the level he has created for himself. Not sure how many times that will happen.

I still think this will be a close series irrespective of if Kohli or Jadeja return.
 
I also think this was a missed opportunity for England, not only were we missing so many top players, even our most banakable bowler in the last decade at home, Ashwin, looked off colour. Granted he bowled very well in the second innings but still not to the level he has created for himself. Not sure how many times that will happen.

I still think this will be a close series irrespective of if Kohli or Jadeja return.
I also think we missed an opportunity here. The big X factor for me has been the batting of Joe Root. Over the last 3 years he's averaged almost 52, in this series he's totalled 52. An extra hundred or so runs in this game would have made all the difference.
 
There’s a clip of KP on radio comms hinting that Virat might’ve retired. It might just be KP being KP.
 
There's no way that Virat retires. KP being KP.
 
Picking a random opinion piece with a sensationalist headline from a newspaper noone in the UK reads is a little harsh to write off the English media.

I'd say Cricket journalism over here is excellent TBH.
Article is actually quite balanced and well written headline is obvious attempt to grab eyeballs .
 
I feel for Jack Leach, he always seems to get injured at the worst possible time and if Hartley can keep performing like this he’s going to take his spot as England’s number one spinner. That extra ability with the bat is very valuable.
Agree with this. I feel like Hartley and Ahmed will be the go-tos from now on, mainly because of their batting. Leach struggled on the last tour to Australia and you can see them deciding to move on.

Leach has done a very good job for England but after 36 tests he's averaging 34.4 with the ball, which is too high for a guy who doesn't offer much with the bat or in the field.
 
Actually dude I am fan of bazball on the field, it's quite refreshing to watch this series, instead of the usual we run through the opponent for most of the series mixed with the odd square turner back firing spectacularly and blowing up in our face routine, England have provided a unique challenge when it comes to not backing down and being up for it in any situation.

It's the off field cultesque bs and overall weird gaslighting especially on part of english media that has me annoyed, you have Atherton one of the few really good cricket commentator and opinion piece writer trying to backdoor England as favorites.

Every English article I have read has some or other mention of how attacking English batting has india rattled because apparently setting long on and long off to guys trying to hit boundaries shows you are afraid.

We have Alastair Cook giving credit to fear of bazball for Ashwin not letting bumrah and mukesh face Rehan Ahmad. You could expect such shit from likes of boycott or even Vaughn but normal guys like cook are crediting England for their opponents trying to score as many runs as possible, this is just plain crazy to me.
Now you know how non-Indian fans feel about the constant over-hyping of India!

I agree that Bazball has grown its own legs and the constant media praise is tiresome. However it's undeniably producing good test cricket and, more importantly, it's led to a significant upturn in England's fortunes.
 
Kohli set to miss the 3rd and 4th test.

Do we have any idea as to why yet?
 
I think this about every great player in every team, with the exception of Australia. I’m more than happy to take one for the team and never see Steve Smith bat if it’s an Ashes test.